The Fiscal Year 2009 budget for the City of Long Beach was passed last night by the City Council, ending a long and strenuous discussion period that left many city departments nervous as the Council scrambled to cut costs and produce a balanced budget. An original $16.9 million deficit was erased – cuts were dealt to nearly all City departments and each Councilmember was asked to reduce their budget by 10%.
The original budget proposal called for a closure of the city’s Main Library, but after community backlash and City Council rejection, the FY09 Budget was passed with the library still standing. Cuts will need to be made – most likely resulting in closures two days per week – but the library will not be relocating or closing for good anytime soon. Which two days per week that the library closes have not yet been decided. A Budget Oversight Committee presentation before the Council meeting suggested eliminating excess staffing – including an unfilled technology services position – and several options for closing to reduce hours of operation.
Also in the BOC presentation, Chairman and District 3 Councilman Gary DeLong noted that City Clerk Larry Herrera offered to cut two positions from his staff that allowed $177,000 to be freed up and used in the general budget. Another proposal by the BOC was to eliminate City funding to parades, an idea met with sharp criticism from 6th District Councilman Dee Andrews – “It would almost kill our [Martin Luther King Jr.] parade” – and received a quick “Hell no” from Vice Mayor Val Lerch.
Another BOC recommendation involved reducing Police Department community relations positions to save up to $110,000 as long as the move did not affect local Community Watch organizations. But LBPD Chief Tony Batts sais that it would directly affect Community Watch, and opposed the proposal. District 7 Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga noted that the Police Department budget increased while nearly all others had decreased.
“If there’s any way the LBPD can contibute, we would be very grateful,” she said. “When you have two-thirds of the budget in the city, people tend to see this big blue hole.”
“We are the largest budget and most of it is based on payment,” said Chief Batts, who said the funds were needed to keep staff at its current level and provide the service needed to the city.
“We need to be careful,” said District 4 Councilman Patrick O’Donnell. “At times, it’s difficult for a department to be effective when its budget is being cut.”
No LBPD positions were cut.
The budget will go into effect on October 1.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor